Tenten's Gaiden
by NightBirdxx
Summary: Tenten is Badass, strong and beautiful. Then why is she always over looked? Well, not in this story. 100% Tenten-centric! Where she proves them all wrong and shows everyone she's far from weak! Where the weapons mistress is the star of the show! Where she'll be recognized, once and for all! Follow Tenten while she tackles troubles head-on and shines in the end! T for language!
1. Chapter 1

_Swoosh!_

_Thunk._

_Thunk, thunk, thunk._

The satisfying sound of kunai hitting wood filled the clearing. The sun shone hot and hard that day, leaving any poor soul under its rays sweating like pigs. Even the birds ceased their singing in the heat wave. Though when one is blind with rage...

_Swoosh!_

... Heat is the last thing on their minds.

_Thunk!_

Tenten grit her teeth. "Infuriating! Unforgivable!"

_Thunk, thunk._

How dare they? _How dare they? _The brown haired girl panted, exhaustion written all over her face. But she wouldn't let that stop her. Only the weak give up so easily. But Tenten was not weak. Far from it. She would show them all!

She reached into her pouch for more kunai, only to find it was empty. Growling, she pulled out a summoning scroll. More kunai popped into existence, each grabbed viciously out of the air and launched towards the target.

_Thunk!_

Stupid teammates and their stupid over protective ways! She didn't need to be protected dammit! She could damn right hold her own against one of them if she wanted to!

_Thunk!_

They had absolutely no right to pull punches in a spar! The whole point was to make each other stronger!

_Thunk, thunk!_

"Useless!"

_Thunk!_

"Pathetic!"

_Thunk!_

"UNBELIEVABLE!"

_THUNK!_

Tenten stopped, giving the training post a glare that'd make ice melt. For a while she just stood there, panting. The exercise, the adrenaline... it cleared her mind. It was like her alcohol. She welcomed that numbness with open arms, the sore muscles be damned. She turned her head away from the log, giving up the will to be angry. The only thing she could feel now was emptiness. The emptiness of giving up. Not in literal context, never. Being a ninja was her dream. But something inside her snapped. Something inside her knew that no matter what she said how hard she'd try, she'd never be as great a shinobi as Neji or Lee. She'd never be as great a kunoichi as Tsunade-sama. Healing was way out of her league. Remembering that one time Gai-sensei had actually let her work with the medical corps... ended absolutely terribly. She shivered, unconsciously patting her hair, checking for left over fish guts. Her chakra control was horrid, enough to send any genjutsu user running in the opposite direction. Screw the stereo types, not every girl has perfect chakra control and that was so not the way she rolled.

She looked back to where the training post still stood. The poor log was... mutilated to say at the least. The wood was hardly even showing anymore. That was going to be a bitch to pull out.

But dammit, she was so god forsakenly weak! Everything she did... was like nothing. There was no way she could ever surpass, let alone be at the same level of her teammates. All her efforts, all her blood, sweat and tears were pretty much thrown into the wind.

Nothing seemed to be able to cease her frustration. It wasn't really her teammates' faults. Honestly. But if there was one thing Tenten could not stand for was being weak. No one had said it out loud but... there was always that underlying thought. When she couldn't keep up with them during laps, when she'd collapse after doing one too many chin ups. Every time Neji deflected her most prized jutsu, Twin Rising Dragons. It hurt.

Although being Tenten, she had too much pride to ever say such a thing out loud. Pride, it seemed was all she had left. Weapons would never work on Lee's speed nor on Neji's kaiten. Kami knows taijutsu was out of question. And normal jutsus... aren't even worth mentioning.

Now, only five months after being enrolled as an official genin, she felt like a two year old in a science convention. Her father, an ex-ninja who now worked as a blacksmith, was the only one to be there for her. He was her inspiration. Tsunade-sama was only an idol. Like a star, so brilliant and bright, but so far away. But her father still encouraged her every day. Matters of pride or not.

The weapons mistress sighed and took a seat under the nearest tree. The shade felt nice, cooling her over exposed skin. She was beat. She left to train early that morning, even when they had a day off. What choice did she have? Getting left behind because she was too lazy to break a sweat was not an option. _Especially when one's on Gai-sensei's team_, she mused as she picked up a stray kunai.

_Swoosh! Thunk._

Bull's eye. But a bull's eye wasn't worth shit if you weren't able to do anything else.

* * *

A few hours later, Tenten awoke when she felt something cold drop on her face. And again. And again. Finally she opened her eyes. The blistering sun had now switched places with heavy rain clouds. Another rain drop landed on her head. _Wonderful_, she thought, making her way to the training post, _just_ _wonderful_. One by one she pulled out the kunai, and with each passing minute the rain fell harder. By the time she was finished, the poor girl was already soaked from head to toe. And thus, proceeded her way home.

Slamming the door closed to her (very) humble home, she stormed up her stairs and into her room. The grassy green walls looked dull in the bad weather. Not spending much thought on it, the brunette flopped onto her bed.

Her father, who had heard her rather loud entrance, poked his head into her room.

"Tenten?"

The man was large, if nothing else. He had broad shoulders, a bald head and a deep voice. Suffice to say, he looked nothing like his daughter.

"Go away," she mumbled into her pillow, "I'm having a bad day."

Ignoring her protest, he waltzed into her room and took a seat next to her bed. After making himself comfortable, he posed the unavoidable 'parental' question, "Why?"

That was what Tenten loved, yet sometimes hated, about her father. He always went straight to the point.

"Just because." _Because I'm weak, _she mentally added.

Her father sighed, "If you don't tell me, then I can't help you."

Tenten didn't answer. She didn't need help, as far as she was concerned. She just wanted to be strong. To have the attention of her teammates, not as the weak little girl, but as the tough kunoichi.

For a while, there they sat, no one saying anything. The heavy downpour made pattering noises on her window, filling the awkward silence gap. Tenten listened to the pitter patter of the rain, longing for the same lack of sensation exhaustion offered.

Her father, who hadn't moved from his seat, finally stretched. Getting up from his chair, the large man gave his daughter on last look before giving an excuse about a pushy client of some sort, and leaved. Tenten could've sworn he muttered something about 'hormonal females' on his way out.

Alone, the quiet was unbearable. It was like trying to strike a conversation with a tree... or a Neji. _That'd be a rather attractive tree_, she smiled to herself. Still, she felt uncomfortable in the stillness. The rain fell harder, unrelenting in its attack on her window. The girl had half a mind to open her window and yell at Mother Nature to shut up. Soon, she felt her eyelids grow heavy and her brain start to shut down, reminding her of how tired she was and how hard she pushed herself. With open arms she allowed blissful sleep to take over.

* * *

Neji looked curiously at the training post in front of him. The piece of wood was absolutely littered with holes, dents and punctures. He ran his hand over the log in interest, unable to fathom why the thing was even standing. It was obvious who did this. Anyone else would've used their hands and feet, not weapons. For a brief moment he wondered what on earth she could've been up to, maiming the training post on her day off, but he shrugged and continued his midnight jog. He'd never understand girls anyways.

* * *

_White hot pain raked at my side. What's going on? What's happening? Frightfully, I looked down to my ribs to see them shredded. _

_Blood. It was everywhere. It tainted my hands, my heart, and my soul. I tried to rip a part of my clothes and use it as a makeshift bandage, like the Academy taught us, but when I looked down again, I was naked. What? How?_

_The pain in my sides increased sending bolts of pain coursing through my body. It was beyond normal pain. It was beyond physical, even. Emotional pain, uncertainty, loneliness... Unwanted memories resurfaced, the pure torture of seeing my mother again... her tired eyes staring at me, her dying breathless words echoing off the chambers in my mind... _'I love you, Tien... always remember... never forget...

...Who... you are... Tien...'

"_It hurts!" I wept, "Dear Kami, help me, it hurts."_

_My mind was fuzzy; the mental and physical anguish was messing with my senses. When I looked up from my crying to saw I was in a forest. The forest seemed almost recognizable... The trees where close together but not unbearably dense...The foliage was a healthy green... The training field! Maybe one of the jounins here could hear me!_

"_Help!" I cried as loud as I can, "Help me, please! It hurts so much..." I sat there for hours yelling like that, until my throat was raw and sore, "Help! HELP ME! Please!"_

_No one answered. Probably no one ever will. Terror paralyzed me. I was going to die here. No one was there to help. Hopeless. It was hopeless. Blood kept pouring from my wounds, making noises like rain. I tasted copper in my mouth, whether it came from my injury or my endless cries for help, I wasn't sure. _

_A massive coyote then stepped out from around a tree, licking its lips hungrily. We locked eyes. Its empty black eyes burned holes into my own chocolate brown ones. Everything went still. My breath stopped in my throat, its paws stopped their pacing. The birds didn't dare sing in fear of getting caught in the crossfire. We waited; the coyote and I, for each other to make the first move. No one stirred... nothing twitched... not a soul breathed..._

_...And then it pounced._

* * *

Tenten bolted upright in her bed, gasping for air. Her sweat made her satin nightclothes stick to her back in the most unpleasant way. Fear distorted her mind. Everything could be a danger. Her kunoichi instincts kicked in as she pulled a kunai from her night table in ready position. Her breathing was fast and shallow. She was ready, ready to take on any threat that challenged her. Her eyes scanned the room finding...

...a whole lot of nothing. Finally, she returned to her senses, though her heart was still doing flips in her rib cage. She grabbed her chest, hoping to still her heart. She hadn't had a nightmare like that in years and it... it unnerved her. A lot. She checked her sides just in case to see no real damage was done. Satisfied, she swung her feet out of bed and she made her way to the washroom. There, she washed her face. Her eyes were all red and puffy from crying. _That must've been some nightmare to make me cry like that_, she mused.

She washed her face some more, praying that no signs of grieving would show by the time she had to leave for her 'Morning Laps Around Konoha of YOUTH!' with sensei and the rest of her team. Checking her digital clock, the bright red numbers flashed 1:24am. She still had approximately three and a half hours left to sleep in. Dragging her feet all the way back to her room she jumped into bed, the last thing being on her mind: _I swear, if I slip back into that nightmare again, I'm going to kill someone._

* * *

Her alarm beeped, signifying a brand new day... of torture. Spending the entire morning exercising and a good portion of the afternoon doing chores with two insane optimists and one disheartening pessimist wasn't Tenten's primal idea of a 'Joyous Day Filled with YOUTH!' The brown haired girl felt her eye twitch at the mare thought of changing another diaper. She'd have to remind herself to ask Gai-sensei what his definition of 'YOUTH!' was, because she was starting to doubt he even knew what it meant. Knowing Gai-sensei he'd probably answer by expressing his joy through tears and sunset genjutsus. Yeah. Real manly.

She sighed, bushing her hair into two twin buns. Another day, another dollar, same as always. Using senbon as bobby pins, she tucked her hair in neatly. She never really aimed for beauty, but hey, a girl's got to keep her image. Besides, her dad always said that she looked like her mother with her hair up like that.

Checking the time, Tenten realized she was running late so she grabbed a peach and left a quick goodbye note to her father on the fridge. With one last check that she had everything and was ready to go, she dashed through the door and ran for the training field.

Pale hues of pink, grey and blue painted the early morning sky. The air was humid and sticky, just like any other summer day. _Even if it is summer, _Tenten remarked as she inspected a brown patch of grass, _it's still pretty hot for five thirty in the morning. Not to mention it's been really hot recently._

"OI! TENTEN-CHAAAAAN!"

She'd have to keep her musings for later, as Lee was sprinting towards her faster than a speeding... um, Lee. "Hm? Oh, hey." She smiled "What's up, Lee?"

"Neji-kun, Gai-sensei and I have been waiting for you to show up, Tenten." Lee skidded to a stop "They have sent me out to find you so we can run laps around Konoha."

The kunoichi blushed when she realized that Gai-sensei had send Lee to search for her because she was late. It didn't happen very often, but even so... quite embarrassing...

_Neji's going to be sooo pissed off that I'm late for training... _she whined to herself, _good bye breaks and hello bruises..._

"Tenten? Are you ready to go?" Lee questioned.

She pulled herself together, "Y-yeah! You ready?"

"I was born ready, Tenten!" He cheered back, "YOSH!"

And so the two of them rushed off to join their teammate and sensei.

* * *

Her heart beat sped up. The world around them seemed to dim away as they stared each other down. With a slight growl of irritation, Tenten pulled out a scroll, bit her thumb and summoned more shuriken, launching them at her opponent.

"Kaiten!"

With a whirl of blue chakra, the steel projectiles fell harmlessly to the forest floor. Unfazed at this, Tenten released more weapons only this time, they were kunai. With the skill she only acquired after months of training directly under her father and Gai-sensei, she threaded the ninja wire through the rings at the butt of the kunai and attached them to her fingers. Throwing them at Neji, she anticipated his Kaiten and manipulated the kunai around the blue dome.

Now that they where fastened to the ground and Neji was finished his rotation, she yanked on the strings and pulled them tight around Neji, and secured the wire so that he couldn't move. Just about when she was going to let out a cry of victory to her first win over the Hyuuga prodigy, 'Neji' poofed into a log.

The training field became quiet... very quiet. Tenten strained her ears for anything... anything at all. Her heartbeat thudded in her ears like a drum. A dry wind rustled in the trees. No sign of Neji. She felt the hair on the back of her neck prickle as if someone was watching her. Not a second after, a swoosh of wind and Neji was behind her holding a kunai to her neck.

"You lose."

Tenten bit her lip in suppressed aggravation. Not even an "I win." Just "You lose." Did he honestly always be so 'Mr. Doom and Gloom'? Was it that necessary?

"Don't be so annoyed by your loss," He stoically answered to her frustration, "it was fated." He released her neck of the kunai

She didn't even know how to respond to that. It was fated. It. Was. _Fated? _No. Nononono NO. She will not lose and then have it told that the reason she lost was because it was FATED. Not today.

She bunched her hand into a fist. "What was that Neji?"

"Are you def? I said it was fated, Tenten. You cannot fight your destiny."

Out of nowhere she pulled back her fist and tried punching him. Neji only dodged and jumped back. "Listen up, Neji!" She hissed, "That was not _fate_. Nor was it _destiny_.That was my _lack of skills_!"

"Tenten! Calm down! What's with you?"

Tenten said nothing but only threw shuriken from her pouch at him. None of them even touched him. _Has she gone berserk? _Neji worried as he ducked out of the way of a stray dagger. A growl ripped from Tenten's throat as she threw a sickle aiming for his neck.

"Kaiten!" Neji said as he span in his trademark defense. Ducking and dodging through Tenten's rain of steel, Neji reached Tenten and secured her arms behind her back to prevent her from attacking him further. Unfortunately for him, she was a kunoichi. Nearly throwing Neji to the ground, Tenten kicked herself free and handspringed away.

"Come to your senses, Tenten!" Neji snarled as he rolled away.

Just as Tenten was about to go in for another attack, a blur of grey and green appeared out of nowhere and pinned her down.

"What's this? Your sensei leaves you alone for an hour, and one of his students goes on a crazy rampage?" An aloof voice echoed through the trees, "Gai, what do you teach your students?"

"Sorry about this Kakashi," Gai sighed, "Tenten, what were you doing?"

Tenten was about to respond but all that came out was a breathless gasp.

"Gai, I think your weights are a little heavy." Kakashi suppressed a laugh.

Gai grunted in awareness and lifted himself from her back. "So, Tenten. What exactly where you doing? This is so unlike you."

Neji who was just off the side said nothing, still a little cautious of Tenten.

"Nothing," Tenten grumbled under her breath, "Nothing, okay? I'm just a little more annoyed than usual this week."

A little skeptic, Gai nodded anyway and turned to Neji. "And you," he started, "why didn't you just stop her with Gentle Palm?"

"She's my teammate," Neji defended himself, "you already made us promise not to use techniques like that on our comrades."

Kakashi looked slightly taken aback. Gai said something like this? And a hateful prodigy actually complied? And a hateful Tenten? Wind passed through the trees. This was a side never seen in any of Team Gai. The silver haired jounin coughed into his hands and lifted himself from the weapons mistress.

"I better get going, don't want to be late. Ja ne." And with a swirl of leaves, he vanished.

Gai lifted an (incredibly thick) eyebrow. "Late?" He shook his head, "Never mind that. Where's Lee?"

As if on cue, a second green spandex clad shinobi poked his head through the bushes. "What is going on?" Lee asked as he caught sight of a wary Neji and a dusty Tenten. "Did I miss something?"

"Uh? No, Lee, everything's fine." Tenten answered from her spot on the ground. "Unicorns and lollipops everywhere."

Lee, oblivious to her sarcasm, cheered. "HOW YOUTHFUL! WE SHALL CELEBRATE THIS MOMENT OF JOY BY RUNNING LAPS AROUNG THE TRAINING FIELD!"

"YOSH! WHAT AN EXELLENT IDEA MY PROTOGY!" Gai hugged him, "Not only around the training field, BUT AROUND KONOHA!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

Tenten and Neji watched from the sidelines in morbid fascination of the interaction of the two beasts of Konoha. Tenten elbowed Neji, "All killing intent aside, should we break those two up?"

"We... we probably should."

But neither of them made a move.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, we're here to pick up our missions!" Gai boomed as he and his team strode through Sarutobi's office doors.

Hiruzen looked up from his paper work and smiled warmly, "Well, well, if it isn't Team Gai. You're a little late today, aren't you? Did something happen?"

Tenten blushed a deep red and stuttered, "No-nothing, Hokage-sama. Nothing at all."

Unknown to them, the Hokage had seen the entire thing through his crystal ball. Chuckling inwardly to himself, he handed Gai a scroll, "Well anyway, here's your mission."

Gai grunted when he saw the scroll given to them. "Hokage-sama there must be some mistake. This is a C rank."

"I know. And it's about high time your cell got one. Do you not have faith in their abilities?"

"O-of course I do."

"Terrific. This is a C rank and you'll be traveling to Amegakure*. Further details will be discussed tomorrow. You are all dismissed."

* * *

"Faaaather! I'm _HOOOOME_!" Tenten declaired as she walked through her door home. Down stairs, she heard a clatter, a bang and a whole lot of swearing.

Rushing down the stairs to the basement where her father worked and forged weapons, she was greeted by the sight of her dad holding his brunt arm and a red hot kunai on the floor. Quickly picking it hot kunai up and placing it where it was safer like her father showed her, she asked, "Dad, what happened? Are you okay?"

Obviously fighting back pain, her father grunted through clenched teeth, "Nothing, sweetheart. You just startled me when you came home is all." He walked over to the medicine cabinet, "Why are you home so early, anyways? No missions?"

Hiding a giggle as she watched her father apply some aloe vera to his arm she replied, "Oh, we got a mission alright," she beamed, "We're going on our first ever C rank!"

"Congratulations! What will you be doing?" His face lit up with genuine interest and pride, despite his new injury.

"Well I'm not sure what we'll be doing but, I know where we're going!"

"And where's that?"

"Ame," She grinned, "I'm so excited!"

Suddenly the air turned heavy. Tenten frowned when she saw her father looking at her with dark and sad eyes.

"Ame?" He asked, his voice strained.

A little unsettled by the way her father who was cheerful and relaxed literally seconds earlier, responded, "Yeah? What's up? What's wrong with that?"

"Tenten, I forbid from going on this C rank."

* * *

Aaaaaaand, CUT! So, how's that for a cliff hanger, eh?

WOW! 4177 words! And I was only aiming for 3400! Woohoo, NBX, you are _good. _Well, now I'm a little tired and a bit nervous, but boys and girls, I'm going for the LONG SHOT! And 100% Tenten centric! _Damn_, I'm good!

FIRST FANFICTION AND SOO PROUD! For further details and updates, check my profile! Ja ne!

*Rain village

Don't forget to


	2. Chapter 2

"What? What do you mean, 'you _forbid_ me'?" Tenten blurted out.

"I _mean_ you're not going on this C rank." Her father answered darkly. Tenten didn't know what to say. She'd never seen her father like this before.

"But... but you can't do that!"

"As your father and as your legal guardian, yes I can," He put the aloe vera back in the medicine cabinet and walked towards the stairs, "And this is my house, so what I say, goes. Got it?"

The weapons mistress was shocked. She stared in silence at her father's retreating back as he went up the stares. _What just happened? Why? Why does everyone hate me today?_

* * *

Tenten didn't know what to do. She didn't want to talk to her father because one, she didn't want to make things worse, two, she was a little more then a lot pissed off at him. How was she going to tell her team? How was she going to explain to the _hokage_ that she couldn't go do her duty as a shinobi because her father refused it?

The brunette sighed in defeat as she continued to toss and turn in bed. She felt terrible. As suited for her horrible luck and horrifying week. Nothing seemed to go as planned. And the one thing... The one thing that'd make the whole 'rotten luck' fiasco turn around for the better, was shot down by her father.

_Why?_

Was there something she did wrong? Was it because she was weak? Because she was a girl? Was Neji right, and girls aren't supposed to be ninja?

Tenten looked with tired eyes at the moon light streaming through her window. What could she do now? The world turned on her... but there was something she felt was missing. What about Ame? What about the Rain village upset her father so much?

_What happened?_

She heard the Tsunade went to the Rain village before. That and something about her teammate choosing some disciples there or something. The whistle of night wind blew through the tree branches. There was also something else... but she couldn't remember... She grabbed her hair in frustration.

_...What am I missing?..._

_What did I... forget?_

* * *

_Rain... Grey skies... So cold... Can't... Feel... Anything... 'Mother? Is that you? Did you come to save me? Help me... please! Mother I'm here! Why can't you see me? I'm under the bushes!'_

_"Tien? Honey, where are you? Tien? You can come out now, it's safe! He left!"_

_I tried calling out to her but my voice wasn't working. Why? Why can't I say anything?_

_"Tien? Sweetie, please! Where are you? _Tien?_"_

_'I'm here!' I tired crying, but nothing came out. A dark figure appeared behind my mother. 'Watch out! He's behind you! Mother! MOM!'_

_I watched in horror as a sword sliced through her side like it was make of butter. My mother let out a cry of pain and fell to the earth. Blood poured freely from her wound staining the dense forest floor, only to be washed away in the rain. I tried to crawl my closer to her side but my limbs didn't respond. I couldn't move at all. 'Mother! Mother, please!' I couldn't do anything as _he_ kicked my mother. She rolled towards my direction, and for a brief, _brief_ moment our eyes locked. Her eyes widened a little in surprise but then narrowed in determination._

_"So," _he _asked, "Where that useless husband of yours and the runt you call your daughter, ah?"_

_My mother panted as she rose to her hands and knees. "Like I'd ever to you, you coward!" she bit back, "I'll never tell you!"_

_"Oh yeah?" the man sneered. Again I stared as he stabbed my mom's lung. "Where'd you hide them, you _slut!_" _

_'Mom! Stop!... Please...' I felt warm tears steak down my cheeks and mingle in with the rain. 'Stop hurting her... stop...' My chest started feeling tight and my eyelids felt heavy... 'Mother...' _

_'...Mother...'_

* * *

"I don't get it, either." Tenten sighed, kicking a rock out of the path, "I've never seen my dad just turn down something like that without even thinking about it."

Lee looked at his teammate with sympathy, "Let us wait for Gai-sensei. Surely he will know what to do."

Neji said nothing the entire time she explained her situation to them. He just stared ahead with his milky white eyes and nodded occasionally. The two of them looked at Neji in surprise when he said something for the first time "I don't know if he could solve this one, Lee."

Lee blinked. "What do you mean by that?" Tenten asked.

"If what your father said is right, Tenten, then even the hokage will have to accept that what you father said is true. He is you legal guardian and therefor, he makes the rules for you."

"How youthful! That is the most I ever heard you say, Neji-kun!" The three of them turned around at the sound of their sensei's voice.

"Gai-sensei? Where have you been? You're never late!" Tenten stated as she stared down her sensei, "Did you lose a challenge too what's-his-name again?"

"Uh? Kakashi? What? No, nev-"

"Gai, a deal's a deal. Get over here and start singing."

Again, Gai's three students turned to Kakashi, who jumped down from a tree holding pots and pans.

"Kakashi-san, I don't think now would be the best time..." Tenten protested, trying to get her sensei's attention

"Nonsense, Tenten! Kakashi here won the bet fair and square so-"

"But sensei-"

"-My duty as a honorable shinobi to-"

"I can't do the-"

"-Or Kami could burn my soul in jelly and-"

"_Sensei!_"

"-I'll swim in potatoes and-"

Tenten lost it, "_I CAN'T GO ON THE MISSION, OKAY?_"

The training field suddenly got very silent. Gai frowned. "Why not?" he asked, perplexed.

"My father 'forbid' me from going." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tenten, your father is an honest and fair man, I'm sure there's a reason behind his decision." Gai stroked his chin in thought.

Kakashi, who'd been standing there very awkwardly for sometime, finally decided it was time to leave them to their own devices. "I have to go... Gai, six o'clock, right in front of the hokage monument."

"The hokage monument?" Gai whined, "But it's so populated there!"

"Well...

...I have to help a random lady cross the street and... a... get spontaneously attacked by a group of ninja who're out to kill me... so... later..." And with a two fingered salute, the scarecrow hopped into the trees.

Gai cleared his throat. "Anyways, Tenten, there's not much I can do for you. Have you considered talking to your father, yet?"

Tenten looked at him with a little anxiesty shining in her eyes. _I can't believe I'm doing this but... _"...I was hoping you could."

Lee and Gai just stared at her. Even Neji looked a little shocked.

"Please, sensei? I know my father's known you for a while..."

Tenten stared at her sensei with pleading eyes. _Come on sensei... your my last chance to go on this mission._ "It... would be my HONOR!" Gai exclaimed, striking the 'Nice Guy' pose, "WHAT YOUTH HAS BEEN DISPLAYED HERE TODAY! OF COURSE I'LL HELP YOU TENTEN!"

Tenten could help but smile. Maybe things will change for the better in the end.

"Come on, we better report to Hokage-sama's office." Neji cut off before Lee and Gai burst into another round of tears. Too late, the waterworks already started. The hot sun shone down on them. Tenten move under the the shade of a large tree.

"Hey, ever noticed how hot it's been lately?" She asked Neji.

"Hn. I was guessing that's why we were going to be sent to Ame, to discuss the situation should a drought happen." Neji looked at her, "That's what I'm assuming anyways. I've heard the rain never stopped in Ame before."

_'Because when you were born, I saw the sky for the first time since I came to this land.'_

Tenten looked around._ Where did that voice come from?_

_ '__Tien.'_

Her eyes widened. _No. It... can't be._ She looked over her shoulder and around the field. Nothing. Maybe it was just her mind playing tricks on her... right?

"What are you looking for?" Neji asked.

"What?" She faked a grin scratched the back of her head in embarrassment, "What do you mean?"

"No, just now you were... You know what, never mind."

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. They better get going if they wanted to reach the hokage tower on time. Tenten checked her on her other teammate and sensei, who were hugging in the sunset, "Gai-sensei! Hey? Hello? Are you ever listening to me?"

* * *

Tenten frowned as she paced. The heated summer sun blazed, burning her skin. _How much longer?_ She wondered as wiped sweat from her brow. Lee watched her walk back and forth, trying to think of something to say that won't get himself killed. The three of them had been waiting for their sensei to return for over two hours. Neji stared at them two of them, his posture showing how peeved of he was peeved off, for one, being blackmailed into waiting with his teammates, and two... well... Neji's pretty much always peeved.

"Two hours. _Two hours._ How much longer is he going to keep us waiting here?" Tenten fumed as she punched a wall.

Lee stared wide-eyed at the dent she made, slowly backing up. "Remember, Tenten, Gai-sensei will do everything he can to make sure you go on this mission. Even if your dad refuses, Hokage-sama said that we have at least a week to figure things out." Everywhere, people looked at the three shinobi with interest. They were waiting in the civilian sector of town, where not many ninja passed by often. Young children, around the age of four or five, observed Neji's unusual eyes from a distance. Tenten watched as they whispered among themselves, but decided it'd take too much effort to tell them to scram. On better days she enjoyed the company of little kids, but today her patience was thinning. _Fast._

Just about when she was going to go on a killing spree, she caught a flash of green. _Finally!_ She cheered internally, _I'm going to get some answers! _

Sure enough, Gai appeared over the horizon, kicking up a trail of dust, leaving a street full of tourists and civilians coughing in his path. The blink of an eye later, the Green Beast of Konoha stood before the three of them in all his glory. Lee and Tenten waited in earnest of what he had to say, while Neji only sighed.

Gai took a deep breath. Tenten bit her lip. Lee was on the verge of passing out. Neji was... being Neji. Even a few bystanders leaned in. "He..." Gai-sensei began.

"He, what?" Tenten demanded.

"_He..._"

"What?"

"_HE..._"

"Just spit it out already!" One of the bystanders yelled out.

"HE AGREED!"

Tenten gaped at him. She then reached into her leg pouch and threw a kunai at her sensei and watched in satisfaction as a small black lock of hair floated to the ground. "Took you long enough! Jeez!" Then finally, for the first time in ages Tenten sighed in relief and dropped onto a bench. "So how'd it go anyways?" She asked, feeling deflated yet happy at the same time. "I'm guessing from how much time you took that it wasn't easy."

Gai winked and gave her a thumbs up. "He wasn't happy at all at first, but I managed to convince him that it was just another simple C rank."

"Awesome." She smiled, despite the previous worry that shaved years worth off her life. "Thank you, sensei."

Gai's teeth sparkled, "No problem, Tenten! All in a day's work!"

Then Lee said something and the whole sunset process restarted, meanwhile, Tenten and Neji sneaked away before their spandex clad sensei and teammate could embarrass them further in the public.

Blushing to herself when her stomach let out a fierce growl, she headed towards the nearest restaurant she could find. If only she _could_ find any. _Why are they all closed? It's only four in the afternoon, it's not even that late! _She whined as she jumped from roof to roof in search of anything that sold anything edible. Even umeboshi would do.

She skipped breakfast and missed lunch and then waited two hours for her sensei. Now it was four o'clock and she hadn't had a thing to eat, so Tenten had the right to be hungry. Finally, she reached a bakery at the edge of town, her mouth watering at the smell of sesame dumplings. In big letters the sign read **Bakery Dragon.** The bell tinkled when she walked in, and a lone, elderly baker looked up from his work.

"Hello, there. Is there anything I can help you with?" He asked as he wiped his hands on his apron, "It's been a really slow day, you're the only customer to arrive so far."

"I've noticed." She smiled slightly as she looked around the nearly deserted shop. It looked as if not a single soul had eaten there for an entire week. Chairs were dusty and tables were in need of a good cleaning. "Can I get three barbecue pork buns and two sesame dumplings please?"

"To-go?" He asked as he fetched them from the oven.

"No thanks, I'll eat them here." Her stomach growled again. _It's like a dying whale in there!_ She mentally cried, trying too stop another blush from rising to her cheeks.

Finally, he set down the pork buns and dumplings. The delicious smell wafted in her nose as she took the first bite.

"These... these are terrific!" She said as she munched down on the pastries, "The best pork buns I've ever tasted my whole life!"

"Why, thank you." He smiled as he watched her eat.

"Say mister..." She started as she chewed, "... Are you the only one running this place?"

The baker stretched his back, "Well sometimes it seems like it with all the work I have to do..."

_All the work? _Tenten sweat dropped, _There's hardly anyone ever here from the looks of it..._

"...But yeah, I've got one other employee who works every once in a while."

"Every once in a while?" She asked, "What about shifts? Aren't those supposed to be regular?"

"Well, he's usually busy, you know, with all that ninja stuff he's gotta do."

Tenten sat there for a while not saying anything. the sounds of the villagers outside were calming, from the children playing in the streets to the elderly laughing at old memories. It seemed like the perfect day, though Tenten felt a little guilty for avoiding her father. Still, she felt like she needed to get out of the house, just to clear her head a little bit. "Well I was thinking, maybe I could get a job, just to get more money? D-ranks don't pay to well at all." She asked on a whim. Also, she felt a little awkward in terms of her dad and wanted to keep distance for the moment.

The baker looked a little surprised at the request. Then again, a little help won't hurt anybody, right? He thought at it for a while. Then he spoke. "Sure, why not. Maybe you can meet my other guy and..." Tenten and the shop keeper turned around when the shop bell ringed as someone opened the door, "...Well speak of the devil."

* * *

Gai looked at the village. _His_ village. He'd worked hard and long to gain respect. Sure, he was a little (a lot) odd. Sure, he started off as a loser. And sure, he still wasn't as well known as his eternal rival Kakashi, and just hardly made a name for himself in the bingo books. But he had students to pass on his legacy. And soon enough, they'll head off on their first ever C rank mission, though to many not a big deal, and to prodigies like Neji and Kakashi, probably another waste of time, butt a stepping stone none the less. He still had yet to gain the respect of two of his students, but now Tenten was starting to appreciate him a little more and that Neji was going to him to ask for advise and help, however rarely he did. But things were looking up, and life was good.

Life was good indeed.

* * *

Tenten choked on a piece of pork bun. "You?" Tenten managed to cough out when she saw who walked in.

"Who were you expecting, Lee?"

"I wasn't really expecting anyone, but Lee would make a lot more sense than you." Tenten said as she swallowed back a laugh. "I really didn't think you were the type to have a part time job, Neji."

Neji only frowned, "Those groceries aren't going to pay for themselves, you know."

"Well..." She didn't know what to say. Her brain was still processing the fact that Neji was just standing there at the entrance to a bakery, wearing an apron that read in bold red letters 'Bakery Dragon'.

"I'm sensing a bit of an awkward situation over here. Can you take this conversation outside before you scare away the customers?" The baker asked from behind them.

Somewhere, someone coughed. _What customers?_ Tenten rose an eyebrow.

"Hiro-san..." Neji sighed, "...There are no customers..."

The baker, Hiro, waved them away. "Oh, hush now. Just go."

The two of them rolled their eyes and exited the bakery. "Clearly the old man's gone delusional." Neji sighed again as they walked down the cobblestone path together. Tenten nodded.

"What are you doing, working in a place like that, anyways?" She asked.

Neji's milky white eyes lolled over to her. "Do you really care?"

"Well sorta, out of curiosity anyways."

He looked away and started taking off his apron. "Firstly, hardly anyone ever goes there, so my reputation won't be completely demolished. Secondly, like I said, the missions we're doing is hardly enough so that I can afford to eat. That and Hiro-san is kind of nice and pays well."

Tenten pursed her lips, "Don't you live in the Hyuga complex?"

"Yes, but I don't..."

"You don't, what?"

"I don't feel comfortable feeding off of what the main house gives us. It's hypocritical on my part."

"Hn... I guess so." Tenten agreed, "Anyways..." _This is going to be weird..._ "I sort of... just got the job..."

Neji took a step back, "You what?"

"I got the job... we work together now?"

Neji face-palmed, "I can't believe this."

Now it was Tenten's turn to frown, "What do you mean you 'can't believe this'? Cripes, Neji, we were already co-workers in the first place."

"I guess, but..."

"But nothing. Now lets head back to the shop so that I can finish eating."

* * *

Tenten walked into her house, feeling dirty and in the need of a major bath from cleaning all the tables. Slugging her way up the stairs, she flopped on her bed, enjoying the familiar sound of it sighing under her weight. She closed her eyes, tuning out the rest of the world. She lay there doing nothing for a good while, simply enjoying the fact that she'd be able to test her skills when she left for the C rank. _Finally_, _I get to feel what being a real ninja is like. _She grinned to the ceiling. She drifted off, her mind left to wonder. _So... a job with Neji, huh? That's nothing _too_ bad... oh, who am I kidding, what have I done?_ The bun haired girl pouted, _what a mess!_

Tenten opened her eyes when she heard a knock at her door. _Well, shit... here goes nothing._ "Come in," she called.

Her father opened her door with a somewhat sheepish expression. "Hey, hun."

"Hi dad." She wasn't sure how else to answer. Her entire life so far seemed to be one big awkward situation. "What's up?"

Her father cleared her throat, "I came to apologize, Tenten." He leaned against the door frame. "It was unfair for me to have just stormed out like that. I admit that I was a little rash at the time."

"O-oh... well... apology... accepted?" She bit the inside of her cheek. _Don't say that!_ She scolded herself ..._Well too late now_. She thought as she looked at her father who was giving her a weird look.

"Anyways... I just wanted you to be safe, and I don't think Ame would be the best place for that." He sighed.

Tenten exhaled, "Dad, I don't get it. What so bad about Ame? What happened there?"

Her dad left the door frame and took a seat on her stool. "Well you were young at the time. But you honestly don't remember?"

"No."

"Then I guess I'll just have to remind you."

* * *

A/N: This chapter feels rushed... I have nothing else to say...

Please review!


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